The Fabula: There is little to discuss here without delving into spoiler territory though there is one thing worth mentioning; while watching Lain, I often found myself wondering if the things seen on screen were ever flashbacks, dreams, hallucinations, or otherwise transcendental events that acted more as imagery and allegory than objective storytelling devices. I have mostly convinced myself that for the most part, that's not the case, that mostly everything on-screen does in fact physically (at least more than metaphysically) occur.
The Syuzhet: This is where the ‘complications’ begin. In Serial Experiments Lain, you can expect time jumps (both backward and forwards), time-traveling (maybe), multidimensionality (in more ways than one), flashbacks (though pronounced), narration (in first, second, and third person), and plenty of philosophical dialogue, as well as mixtures of said elements. There’s even a pseudohistorical lecture in the series. Yeah, targeted at the audience! This extreme type of unconventional syuzhet is perhaps the hallmark of Lain. It is how the series is able to express all of its emotions so effectively. You will find yourself asking, “what!?” multiple times per episode assuming you’re not simply in a constant state of ‘what!?’ through the entire series like I was. I believe Lain tries to intentionally confuse the audience, but maybe I was just not smart enough to catch on by myself. Every scene is packed with imagery; so much so, that I would go as far as calling the entire series an allegory. Every scene has a distinct, perceptible purpose that demands analysis. Many people will dismiss Lain because of it’s hard to follow syuzhet. Most people I’ve met that have seen Lain dropped it after a couple of episodes because, “it was too confusing” or, “it didn’t make any sense.” I implore you to give it a little more thought than that, as the series has a lot to say, which we will discuss below.
Themes: In Serial Experiments Lain we can discuss two different types of themes. It has its maxims, it’s explicitly conveyed themes; and, it has its implicitly conveyed themes.
The maxims are straightforward as they are literally discussed on-screen by characters. What is the self? What is reality? At what point can you no longer distinguish a communication network and reality itself? What is a God? What is omnipresence? What are memories, and their relation to reality?
More interestingly though, are the implicit themes of Lain, which are up to the audience to manifest within themselves and their perception of Lain. What I ended up taking away from the series was much more substantial than the maxims, which I’m pretty sure I named completely above. I was much more intrigued by the psyches of the characters than by what they were saying or doing. The questions I ended up with were more personal to me than those maxims. I pondered more about the human condition, introversion, loneliness, purpose, personality disorders (dissociative identity disorder in particular), humans’ perceptions of one another; as well as, ambition, love, greed, intellectual goals, and much, much more. My mind is exploding with ideas as I write this, and I’m sure this series will continue to trigger such ideas in my head for as long as I live.
Serial Experiments Lain receives a Great rating from me for being so thought-provoking. It made me question previously conceived ideas in their entirety in a manner rather unique. Having said so, I would not recommend this to anyone that is not willing to give it the thought and attention it needs. If you can’t even get past the fabula, you will not understand the series whatsoever. And even getting past the syuzhet won’t reveal everything it has to offer. To fully appreciate Lain you must be willing to question and analyze everything, including your own ideas and perceptions of reality.
